J'son & Partners Consulting: Prospects for LTE - infrastructure, applications and customer base, 2013-2018

The company J'son & Partners Consulting presented the main results of the study "Prospects for LTE: infrastructure, applications and customer base, 2013-2018", noting that at the beginning of September 2013 in the 81 countries of the world, there were 213 commercial networks LTE, in 2017 was projected to rise to 400 networks in 120 countries around the world. The number of subscribers is expected to grow from 100 million in May 2013 to 900 million by the end of 2017

LTE networks will introduce a number of promising applications that are difficult or even impossible to previous generations of networks - "enhanced multimedia services» (Rich Communication Service, RCS), a broadcast streaming eMBMS, LTE-Direct, the application in the field of public safety. It is planned to actively use the LTE technology in various sectors of the economy - in the industrial sector, agriculture, construction, health care, etc., as well as in the segment of public safety.

Recently, there are also new business models, such as those associated with the use of femtocells. Thus, the model FaaS (Femto as a Service) allows operators to deploy their own network of small cells without significant investment and the need to have your own femtoshlyuz.

Despite the improved performance, LTE networks and LTE-Advanced is waiting for gradual implementation. The main trend - a smooth transition from circuit 3G/HSPA, which show almost the same high performance as LTE, in many areas and applications.

In the medium term (5-6 years), the largest Russian mobile operators is not only to build a 4G network in accordance with the licensing requirements and their own investment plans, but also to find effective ways to monetize LTE networks to prevent loss of revenue due to increasing popularity of mobile OTT-services , increasing pressure from the regulator and the possible deterioration of the economic situation.

The main tasks of the operators in the near future will be the solution to voice over LTE (VoLTE), the consolidation of efforts to establish a system of alternative inter-carrier communications (RCS or equivalent), the introduction of small cells to provide indoor coverage, the problems of the international LTE-roaming, the penetration smartphones on their networks and the search for promising applications for both mass and for vertical markets.